Macron promises peace, but if possible for Zelensky to draw the borders of the countryMacron is confident that the moment will come when NATO countries will sit down at the negotiating table with Russia.
He stated this in an interview with TF1. According to the French president, it is necessary not only to ensure the security of the alliance, but also to give guarantees to Moscow.
French President Emmanuel Macron gave an interview to the main channel of French television TF1, in which he answered questions concerning the Ukrainian conflict. Here is the part of his interview where he touched on this topic.— There is one thing that we have been doing since the very beginning of this conflict — it is to make sure that the escalation does not affect civilian nuclear power.
Ukraine is a country where there is a nuclear power plant. Therefore, I will definitely talk to President Putin on this topic of nuclear power plant safety — after I receive direct information on this matter, having talked with the head of the IAEA. We need specific and precisely defined topics for conversation.
So, here are our tasks for the coming weeks. We need to help Ukrainians resist [Russia] and not give up at all, despite the difficulties. Continued military assistance will be required. At the same time, it is necessary to avoid escalation, and if necessary, to intervene pointwise to avoid developments that could affect nuclear power plants. And at the same time, we need to calmly prepare a dialogue that will begin when everyone gathers at the negotiating table.
There is one topic that depends on Ukrainians, and that is the issue of borders. There is another topic that we will have to settle. And I discussed it during our meeting with President Biden. Here it is: what will be the security architecture of the world where we want to live tomorrow. One of the important points that worries President Putin is the fear that NATO will come to his doorstep. This is the topic of placing weapons that may have the ability to strike at Russia. And this story will also be part of the list of those topics that we will need to discuss — for the sake of peace. And here, too, you will need to prepare for the conversation: how will we ensure the security of our NATO member states while at the same time guaranteeing Russia's security? Solutions for all these issues will need to be ready by the time we sit down at the negotiating table...
What we are currently defending in Ukraine are the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. We protect its territorial integrity and national sovereignty. What I believe in is the right of peoples to control their own destiny. It is the Ukrainian people who must decide their fate. It is not for us to decide what this territorial integrity should be, how and how to protect it. Our job is to indicate, without becoming parties to the conflict, that we do not accept violations of this territorial integrity. And there is one more thing that depends on us and for which we are responsible: this is the security of the rest of Europe.
— But don't the arms supplies to Ukraine put us, France, under attack?
— From the very beginning of the current conflict, we have established two restrictions, two red lines that we do not cross. First, we are not weakening our own ability to defend our territory — on our land. Secondly, we do not supply weapons capable of putting us in a position where we could be considered as participants in the conflict. And this means: we do not give weapons that allow us to strike at Russia on its own land... So we will expand supplies — speed them up within the framework of compliance with these two restrictions... Now the Ukrainian military can come to us and choose what they like, right from our manufacturers. We have made it so that financing from European funds can be used in this case.
